Automatic telephonic timer



y 18, 1965 J. A. CURTIS, JR

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONIC TIMER Filed MarCh 26, 1962 FIG.

INVEN'I'OR. JOSEPH A. CURTIS, JR

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,184,551 AUTMATI TELEIHUNI TIMER JosephA. Curtis, .Ira, 917 Cambridge St, Apt. A, Anaheim, Calif. Filed Mar.26, I962, Ser. No. 182,333 3 Claims. (Qi. 179--7.I)

The present invention relates generally to the field of telephoneaccessories, and more particularly to a device that may be removablyattached to a dial telephone to automatically indicate when apredetermined period of time has expired during a telephoneconversation.

As is well known, it is extremely difficult to determine the amount oftime spent during a telephone conversation, and while various timingdevices have been proposed for this purpose in the past, they havereceived but limited acceptance. Primarily, these prior devices havebeen of a type that require a separate operation on the part of the userother than dialing a desired number. Due to these previous devices beingseparate and apart from the telephone, they are frequently moved out ofreach of the user and thereby not used or forgotten.

A primary purpose in devising the present invention is to provide atiming device that is removably attachable to a dial telephone by asimple manual operation, which device is automatically actuated when theuser dials a telephone number.

Another object of the invention is to supply a timing device that is ofsimple mechanical structure, requires little or no maintenanceattention, can be manufactured from standard commercially availablematerials, and sold at a sufiioiently low retail price as to encouragewidespread use thereof.

A still further object of the invention is to furnish an automatictelephone timing device that emits an audible signal after apredetermined length of time, normally three minutes, but which includesvisual means for indicating the passage of time after the initial periodof time has expired.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following description thereof, and from the accompanyingdrawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present invention removablymounted on a'dial telephone;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of a dial telephone withthe timing device mounted thereon;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of the timer with a portion of thehousing broken away to expose the interior thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View of the timer taken online 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the timer taken online 5--5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6a is a bottom plan View of a portion of the timer before anumber has been dialed;

FIGURE 6b is a bottom plan view of the same portion of the inventionshown in a second position after a number has been dialed;

FIGURE 60 is a bottom plan view of that portion of the invention shownin FIGURE 6a but showing the actuating lever after return to its initialposition; and

FIGURE 6d is a bottom plan view of the same portion of the timer shownin FIGURE 60, illustrating the position the actuating lever occupiesafter the device has given an audible signal.

With continuing reference to the drawing for the general arrangement ofthe telephonic timer of the present 3,i34,55i Patented May 18, 1965invention, it will be seen that the device is adapted to he removablymounted on a telephone A of a type comprising a base B which remova blysupports a receiver C and is provided with a dial D. A stop E extendsover the dial D, as may best be seen in FIGURE 2, and is supported fromthe base B by an upwardly extending rigid member F, best shown in FIGURE3.

The timer includes a housing 10 comprising end walls 12 and side walls14, a bottom 16 and a top 18, as illustrated in FIGURE 4-. The bottom 16has a first trans versely disposed arm 21 rigidly atiixed thereto, andthis arm has two tapped bores 22 formed therein. A second arm 24 isprovided that has two bores 26 extending therethrough. Lips Ella and2441 are provided on the outer end portions of arms 20 and 24. Twoscrews 23 extend through bores 26 and threadedly engage the tapped bores22. When the screws 28 are tightened, the arm 24 can be caused to moveto the left as shown in FIGURE 3 and cooperate with first arm Zil togrip the support F therebetween and remo vably hold the housing Iii inthe position shown in FIGURE 2 on telephone A.

The housing It? has a slot 39 formed in the upper side wall 14 thereofas shown in FIGURE 3. An actuating lever 32 projects through slot 39from the interior of housing It). The lever 32 is movable in a planeother than that in which the stop E is disposed. When the finger (notshown) of a user engages the lever 32, the lever is pivoted from a firstposition shown in FIGURE 2 to a second position to overlie stop E. Lever32 is connected by conventional means to a circular plate Plate 34 isfrictionally gripped between upper and lower circular nuts 36 thatengage threads (not shown) on the upper end of a stem 38. The stem 38 isdisposed in a direction normal to the bottom I6 and top 18 of housingIii.

The upper nut 36 has an arm dtl projecting therefrom. Situated withinthe confines of the housing It) is a first plate 42 (FIGURE 4) that isheld therein by conventional means, and is parallel to the bottom 16spaced a substantial distance thereabove. A second plate M is locatedwithin the housing 141, and is in abutting contact with the interiorsurface of bottom 16. A helical spring 56, preferably a watch spring, isalso situated within the housing It and one end thereof is connected toa convenient portion 48 of the housing. The opposite end of spring 46 isconnected tostem 3%. When the spring 46 is coiled as shown in FIGURE 5,it tends at all times to rotate stem 38 in the conventional manner.

Stem 38 has a spur wheel 5% mounted thereon which engages a first pinion52, that is mounted on a first shaft 54. Shaft 54 has a second spurwheel 56 aiiixed thereto, which wheel engages a second pinion 58. Secondpinion 58 (FIGURE 5) is mounted on a second shaft 60 that also supportsa third spur wheel 62. Spur wheel 62 engages a third pinion 64 which ismounted on a third shaft 66. Shaft 66 also supports a toothed wheel 6%the speed of which is regulated by engagement with an anchor escapement79 of conventional design and of a type used in clocks. The anchorescapement 70 is afiixed to a fourth shaft '72. The purpose of theanchor escapement '70 is to regulate the rate at which the stem 38rotates, and although this anchor escapement is convenient for thispurpose, it will be apparent that any one of a number of otherescapement mechanisms may be used for the same purpose if desired.

As may best be seen in FIGURE 4, the stem 38 and shafts 54, 6t), 66 and72 are all parallel and the ends thereof are journaled in openingsformed in the first and second plates 42 and 44 respectively. Plate 42,as may be seen in FIGURE 4, has an L-shaped bracket 74 or othersupporting means affixed to the upper surface thereof. The bracket 74supports an elongate resilient spring 76 that extends to a positionwhere the end 78 thereof is contacted by the arm 49 as the arm movesfrom the position shown in FIGURE 6c to that shown in FIGURE 6a. The end73 of spring '76 has a small weight 8!) aifixed thereto to cause thespring to vibrate and impart a noise after the arm 40 has passed therebyas shown in FIG- URE 6d.

A stop 82 extends downwardly through housing 10, which stop is contactedby the lever 32 when the lever moves through the position shown inFIGURE 6a to that shown in FIGURE 6b. The top 18 is removably held onhousing lit by screws 84, or other conventional means. As may be seen inFIGURE 4, the screws 84 extend down wardly through openings formed inthe top 18 to engage tapped members 85 that are rigidly affixed to theinterior.

Operation of the invention is quite simple. The screws 22 are used aspreviously explained to move the second arm 24 relative to the first arm20 to cause the arms to removably grip the support F and hold theinvention in the position shown in FIGURE 2 on telephone A, When thedial D is used, the finger of the user (not shown) will move the lever32 from a first position to a second position shown in FIGURE 6b, whereit overlies the stop E which forms a part of the telephone A.

At this point the spring 4-6 has been further tightened into a coiledconfiguration of the lever 32, and when a telephone number has beencompletely dialed the lever will tend to be moved from the positionshown in FIG- URE 6b to return to that shown in FIGURE 2. Rotation ofthe spur wheel 50 and stem 38 is governed by the anchor escapement 70.The anchor escapement 70 so cooperates with the spring 46, the stem 38,and the spur wheels and pinions previously described, that it takesthree minutes for the lever 32 to move from a position where it overliesthe stop E as shown in FIGURE 6b to the position shown in FIGURE 6dwhere the spring 76 is vibrating to give an audible signal that threeminutes has expired since the number had been dialed.

The spring 46, of course, initiates operation of the invention as soonas a telephone number has been dialed, but should this be an unduly longtime, the user can move the lever 32 to a position where it overlies thestop E when the party being called answers the telephone. When thisoperation is performed, the time that expires before the spring 76 givesan audible alarm (FIGURE 61)) will be exactly three minutes. Unless thislast operation is performed, the signal will be given by the spring 76after the user of the time has talked a period of less than threeminutes over the telephone.

If desired, the automatic timer may be set by appropriate positioning ofthe arm 40 to cause the spring 76 to give an audible alarm afterexpiration of, say, a period of three minutes and ten seconds afterdialing of a number. The additional ten seconds constitutes the averagelength of time it takes for a person being called to answer thetelephone after dialing.

Occasionally, a person making a toll or long distance call by dialtelephone will desire to continue the conversation beyond the initialthree-minute period. To permit the user of the telephone A to determinethis additional period of time, three numbers 3, 4 and 5 are marked onthe top 18, as shown in FIGURE 2. When the lever 32 has returned to aposition where the spring 76 will emit an audible alarm (FIGURE 6d), thelongitudinal center line 32a of lever 32 that serves as visual indiciais in alignment with the index 3 marked or imprinted on top 18. Whenfour minutes have expired, the longitudinal center line of the lever 32is in alignment with the index mark 4, and when five minutes haveexpired, the lever will be aligned with the index 5. Obviously,additional index marks could be provided on top 18, but from a practicalstandpoint it has been found that except s for special circumstances, atime record beyond five minutes is seldom required.

It will be apparent from the preceding description that each time thetelephone is dialed, the lever 32 is moved to a second position fromwhich it immediately starts to return to a first position, due to thespring-loading of the stem 38. However, it is only after the last stepin the dialing operation is completed that the lever 32 is free to movefrom the second position where it is disposed above the stop E to thefirst position without further interruption.

Although the present invention is fully capable of achieving the objectsand providing the advantages hereinbefore mentioned, it is to beunderstood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferredembodiments thereof and I do not mean to be limited to the details ofconstruction herein shown and described, other than as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A timing device for use in automatically signalling the expiration ofa predetermined length of time after a number has been dialed on a dialtelephone which is provided with a dialing stop that partially extendsover a dial on said telephone, including:

(a) a housing;

([1) first means for removably supporting said housing from a portion ofsaid stop that is disposed to one side of said dial;

(0) a lever projecting from said housing that extends over said dial,which lever is at a higher elevation relative to said dial than saidstop and normally occupies a first position where said lever will becontacted by a dialing implement prior to contact of said stop by saidinstrument, which lever also is capable of occupying a second positionwhere it is in substantial vertical alignment with said stop;

(d) second means in said housing including a stem for movably supportingsaid lever;

(2) third means in said housing that at all times tend to move saidsecond means and said lever in a direction to return said lever to saidfirst position at a uniform rate;

(1) fourth means in said housing for regulating the rate at which saidthird means moves said second means and lever from said second positiontowards said first position;

(g) fifth means in said housing that audibly signals after said leverand second means have been movmg from said second position toward saidfirst position for a predetermined length of time;

(h) visual indicia on said lever; and

(i) a plurality of longitudinally spaced and numbered lines imprinted onthe upper surface of said housing past which said lever moves inreturning to said first position, with said indicia when in alignmentwith one of said numbered lines visually indicating the number ofminutes said telephone has been used.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said fifth means is a rigidarm that is moved as said stem rotates, which device further includes:

(a) an elongate spring, a first end of which is held in a fixed positionrelative to said housing with a second end of said spring being adaptedto be contacted by said arm supported from said stem as said stemrotates when said lever moves from said second to said first position.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said elongate spring has aweight mounted on said second end thereof to cause vibration of saidspring and emit said audible signal after said elongate spring has beencontacted by said arm supported from said stem and bent to the extentthat it becomes disengaged from said arm supported from said stem.

(References on following page) 5 References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,202,149 5/40 Gottlieb 179-7.1 X 2,335,632 11/43 Beal340-309 2,609,045 9/52 Kaiser 1797.1 X

6 2,615,093 10/52 Weyrauch 179-7 2,629,781 2/ 53 Feinstein 179-7.12,941,350 6/60 Rogovin 58-144 5 ROBERT H. ROSE, Primal Examiner.

WALTER H. LYNDE, Examiner.

1. A TIMING DEVICE FOR USE IN AUTOMATICALLY SIGNALLING THE EXPIRATION OFA PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF TIME AFTER A NUMBER HAS BEEN DIALED ON A DIALTELEPHONE WHICH IS PROVIDED WITH A DIALING STOP THAT PARTIALLY EXTENDSOVER A DIAL ON SAID TELEPHONE, INCLUDING: (A) A HOUSING; (B) FIRST MEANSFOR REMOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID HOUSING FROM A PORTION OF SAID STOP THATIS DISPOSED TO ONE SIDE OF SAID DIAL; (C) A LEVER PROJECTING FROM SAIDHOUSING THAT EXTENDS OVER SAID DIAL, WHICH LEVER IS AT A HIGHERELEVATION RELATIVE TO SAID DIAL THAN SAID STOP AND NORMALLY OCCUPIES AFIRST POSITION WHERE SAID LEVER WILL BE CONTACTED BY A DIALING IMPLEMENTPRIOR TO CONTACT OF SAID STOP BY SAID INSTRUMENT, WHICH LEVER ALSO ISCAPABLE OF OCCUPYING A SECOND POSITION WHERE IT IS IN SUBSTANTIALVERTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID STOP; (D) SECOND MEANS IN SAID HOUSINGINCLUDING A STEM FOR MOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID LEVER; (E) THIRD MEANS INSAID HOUSING THAT AT ALL TIMES TEND TO MOVE SAID SECOND MEANS AND SAIDLEVER IN A DIRECTION TO RETURN SAID LEVER TO SAID FIRST POSITION AT AUNIFORM RATE; (F) FOURTH MEANS IN SAID HOUSING FOR REGULATING THE RATEAT WHICH SAID THIRD MEANS MOVES SAID SECOND MEANS AND LEVER FROM SAIDSECOND POSITION TOWARDS SAID FIRST POSITION; (G) FIFTH MEANS IN SAIDHOUSING THAT AUDIBLY SIGNALS AFTER SAID LEVER AND SECOND MEANS HAVE BEENMOVING FROM SAID SECOND POSITION TOWARD SAID FIRST POSITION FOR APREDETERMINED LENGTH OF TIME; (H) VISUAL INDICIA ON SAID LEVER; AND (I)A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY SPACED AND NUMBERED LINED IMPRINTED ON THEUPPER SURFACE OF SAID HOUSING PAST WHICH SAID LEVER MOVES IN RETURNINGTO SAID FIRST POSITION, WITH SAID INDICIA WHEN IN ALIGNMENT WITH ONE OFSAID MUMBERED LINES VISUALLY INDICATING THE NUMBER OF MINUTES SAIDTELEPHONE HAS BEEN USED.